Informed Consent in Psychiatry / 신경정신의학

ABSTRACT

Informed consent is the procedure that respects the autonomy of patients ; doctors protect patients' choices and rights through informed consent. Competence and voluntariness are prerequisite for the informed consent. In recent years, the necessity of informed consent from the Psychiatric department has been raised. Regarding informed consent from the Psychiatric department, there is a need to consider from two perspectives respect for the patient's decision-making ability and the psychiatrist's legal self-protection. In competence and voluntariness, psychiatric patients were excluded due to lack of decision-making ability and willingness. However, not all psychiatric patients were able to perform the given task. Therefore, informed consent is needed in the point of view regarding the decision-making ability of psychiatric patients. Psychotropic medications, particularly antipsychotics, can cause several side effects, including extrapyramidal syndrome and metabolic syndrome. Therefore, preannouncement of these patients for these side effects is needed. However, when the informed consent is only applied to psychiatric hospitals, it may increase prejudices and misconceptions about psychiatric medications and treatment. Therefore, the informed consent should first be considered carefully and thoughtfully.